Stiller, 1908

CommentaryLucian Bernhard moved to Berlin in 1903 when he was just 18. Just two years later, the autodidact had become the hero of a new style of poster, the ›Berliner Sachplakat‹ or Berlin Object Poster. A more or less chance meeting with the pioneer of Berlin posters, Edmund Edel (1863-1939) set his career rolling. Very soon he belonged to the circle of innovative poster designers around Ernst Growald (1867-1943), one of the first professional advertising agents who worked for the printer’s ›Hollerbaum & Schmidt‹. He introduced new printing and marketing methods and encouraged the artists to experiment. Bernhard soon became a leading light in the appearance of a new type of poster. His posters during the First World War were as succinct as those for the Deutsche Werbedienst (1919). During a trip to the USA in 1922, Bernhard decided to settle there. His studio in Berlin carried on under Fritz Rosen (1890-1980) until 1933.

Bernhard created the style for a new type of poster. With the ›Berliner Sachplakat‹, poster design changed completely as posters had thus found their own specific form. Bernhard’s work spread far Berlin, Germany and his age. His ideas, developed empirically, were confirmed by media psychology and are still valid today.

Lucian Bernhard moved to Berlin in 1903 when he was just 18. Just two years later, the autodidact had become the hero of a new style of poster, the ›Berliner Sachplakat‹ or Berlin Object Poster. A more or less chance meeting with the pioneer of Berlin posters, Edmund Edel (1863-1939) set his career rolling. Very soon he belonged to the circle of innovative poster designers around Ernst Growald (1867-1943), one of the first professional advertising agents who worked for the printer’s ›Hollerbaum & Schmidt‹. He introduced new printing and marketing methods and encouraged the artists to experiment. Bernhard soon became a leading light in the appearance of a new type of poster. His posters during the First World War were as succinct as those for the Deutsche Werbedienst (1919). During a trip to the USA in 1922, Bernhard decided to settle there. His studio in Berlin carried on under Fritz Rosen (1890-1980) until 1933.

Bernhard created the style for a new type of poster. With the ›Berliner Sachplakat‹, poster design changed completely as posters had thus found their own specific form. Bernhard’s work spread far Berlin, Germany and his age. His ideas, developed empirically, were confirmed by media psychology and are still valid today.